


Inebriated

by Dzuljeta



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Dimension Travel, Do you really think a Time Lord can stay drunk for long?, Drunk Rose, Drunkenness, F/M, Family Loss, Fluff, No Smut, Reunions, Romance, Sexual Content, Telepathy, The TARDIS Takes Control, Time Lady Rose, Time Lords and Ladies, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2018-07-16 17:24:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7277131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dzuljeta/pseuds/Dzuljeta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Doctor finds Rose Tyler sitting alone with a half-finished bottle of whiskey, he is sure something is terribly wrong. Then, Rose offers him a goodbye kiss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> BBC owns everything.
> 
> (I am posting this, and NOT Wounds pt.3 now, because I am terribly frustrated Sweden has lost to Belgium. Make of it what you will)

**Inebriated**

**Chapter One**

The Doctor could not explain to Donna why, instead of in her preferred restaurant in Spain, they have found themselves somewhere else. But he knew at once this was not Spain. Somewhere on Earth, possibly. He was about to placate the woman...

Then, he saw _her_. Rose Tyler, sitting alone by the table, a half-filled whiskey glass and a half-full (or half-empty?) whiskey bottle simply standing there.

The Doctor gasped, inhaled and _flew_ \- or the speed in which he moved towards the subject of his interest seemed close to that to Donna - to the girl. The redhead did not bother trying to catch up, choosing to get acquainted with her surroundings instead. She was not disappointed.

Rose Tyler was staring in front of her, likely focusing on nothing in particular.

“Rose,” he managed. “You are not supposed to!” _You are supposed to be grinning at me excitedly right now!_

The girl did not give away any sign about having understood his lone and more or less desperate thought. And why should she? They have only talked about some very basic, some use-this-when-all-else-fails telepathy techniques. Really, what did he expect?

Rose understood, understood it all. But she kept it to herself, seemingly more concerned about her drink than anything else.

“Look around, Doctor,” she spoke instead, her voice quite even for someone who has seemingly drunk the half bottle of whiskey (and that bottle was not one of the smallest kind, either). “Do you see _anyone_ nearby? No! Do you know this is my third bottle in an hour? Do you know how uncomfortable it can get when guys try to offer you a ride home, hoping for a shag in return for the favour no less... And all I can give them is a good old Bad Wolf look to shoo them away?”

“Rose…” He could only gape at her and thank Rassilon Donna was busy elsewhere. The TARDIS was not warning him and the ginger knew how to take care of herself, at least for now.

* * *

 

 

The alcohol-induced effect was evaporating from Rose’s system much too soon for her liking and she downed two glasses of whiskey one after the other, startling the Doctor.

“Much _better_ ," she cleared her throat. “What is it you want? A kiss goodbye?”

He stared at her, puzzled. _What?_ They have _just_ found each other again! The following words have puzzled him even more. “Or is it a shag you want? I still have about thirteen minutes until I am fully sober again, so-”

He took the bottle from her. “I need you to stop drinking.”

“Why?” It was becoming hard for her not to try and touch him. One touch, and all would be clear for the Doctor... But it would be too _easy_.

 “Because the Rose I remember was _never_ drunk.”

“The Rose you remember was _human_. This Rose is-” She could not finish, as drinking this much was neither usual nor acceptable for her. Of course, her stomach could and was most likely going to get exacerbated… and it did.

They both knew what was coming. The Doctor was quicker and managed to take away his suit jacket soon enough for Rose to empty her stomach onto it.

Donna was watching the scene from afar, shook her head and got herself a glass of wine, not following the action any more, soon finding herself some pleasant company of casual, plain, _normal_ people.

* * *

 

“No more alcohol, deal, Rose?” He spoke hopefully. She agreed.

“Is it a kiss or a shag you want, Doctor?” Rose remembered. Only now, she was smirking at him.

“Oh, I think I would be happy with both,” he winked at her. “But only on board the TARDIS, and neither of those should be 'goodbye'. But first – you _were_ human? Am I supposed to believe-” Then, it hit him. No matter the amount of whiskey she’s drunk, it has only affected her for-

Instead of giving her the question he believed was useless now, the Time Lord gave her another one. “Drinking? Why?”

 _They are all lost. Gone. Forever_. _All I have is my fame and title of an heiress of a company that no longer exists._ Rose has forgotten her pretended inability to use telepathic communication.

_I am here. With you, for you. If you want._

After having wiped her lips with her sleeve, assuming the traces of her unpleasant throwing-up incident were _not_ gone miraculously  – which they were, as a matter of fact – she excused herself for a moment, wanting to find a bathroom.

The Doctor grabbed her. “Don’t go. Allow me.” He pointed his sonic device at her. “It knows what should be done,” he assured her, not wording the uncomfortable topic of mouth hygiene out loud.

He grinned at her half a second later. “As good as new,” _Rose_.

Not one thought about Donna has entered his mind then, not when Rose has licked her teeth and, content, attacked his mouth with what felt like an overpowering need to _feel_. To _share_.

 _Be mine, Rose Tyler._ The demand was not thought of beforehand, it has simply arisen from the depth of his Time Lord mind. This was a dream-come-true scenario. Rose, his Rose-

_I am. I am yours. Your Rose Tyler. Your Time Lady. Or would you rather follow the ordinary path?_

“What is the ordinary-” The Doctor backed away from her, his curiosity incurable.

“Kiss- we have moved straight to making out, yes, and the next part is-”

“Oh. But-but-” _Just how much in nee_ d _are you?_ The Doctor knew and understood. Maybe Rose did not. Not fully. _You know making love is not even the final step?_

She nodded. “Are _you_ willing to form a bond with me?”

The Time Lord was not even surprised about Rose being familiar with Gallifreyan terminology. She was Rose. _His_ Rose. She _was supposed_ to know. How or from where was not important. But before he could answer her question, an obstacle has arisen.

* * *

 

“Hello!” Donna’s angry shrieking has finally reached them. “I am calling for you for fifteen minutes! But no, you prefer snogging to hearing your friends? I might have got into trouble while you- _kept sacrificing your clothes for her-_

“Sorry about that, Donna. But I happen to know he has fifty-seven more of those,” Rose assured the frustrated redhead.

“How do you know my name?! And what is _yours_?”

“Back to husband and wife, eh, Doctor?” Rose teased.

Donna rolled her eyes at the two people in front of her. Merely watching them was giving her a headache.

“I need a drink. Better yet, an aspirin.”

The dread on their faces was priceless.


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously...**

_Donna rolled her eyes at the two people in front of her. Merely watching them was giving her a headache._

_“I need a drink. Better yet, an aspirin.”_

_The dread on their faces was priceless._

* * *

 

**Inebriated**

**Chapter Two**

They shared a look.

“Well, unless you carry some pills with you, I can’t exactly help,” the Doctor shrugged.

Donna looked at the other girl curiously. She must have been either fearless or shameless. “What about you?”

* * *

 

The memories hit Rose then. Mum determined to lower her unusually high temperature with aspirin… She did not know. _Rose_ did not know. Long hours, perhaps days in bed, with fever higher than humanly possible. From what she could remember, her mother was always close to her.

“No. No,” the fair woman repeated, feeling the memories returning to torture her. _No family. No Mum. No Pete. No Tony! No-one is left! Nobody…_

Rose composed herself. “I prefer paracetamol to- to aspirin,” she spat the final word.

“Yeah? But you don’t happen to have it with you, I take it?” Donna bit, hating being left out of something seemingly only the Doctor and this… this _girl_ knew. “Because alcohol and medicine don’t go along well?” She clarified.

“Aspirin has nearly killed me once,” Rose spoke quietly. “Has taken my last chance to see them – my family - away from me.”

“I was simply lying there, delirious with fever, and then there it was… an hour, a day, a week after that? Uniformed men, giving me their condolences-” She gulped, only looking at the Doctor. _“We are sad to announce the news, Miss Tyler. But both your mother, Jacqueline Tyler, and father, Peter Tyler have fallen victims to the explosion in the factory. No person was found alive. We are terribly, incredibly sorry, Miss Tyler.”_

Rose’s voice and breathing were shaking, but she ignored it. The Doctor could not. Neither could Donna. “This is… Terrible. I am so, so sorry!” The ginger felt as if she were a part of their traumatised triangle now. Even if her greatest loss has been the broken-off wedding, an event that has mostly brought joy into her life ever since.

* * *

 

 “We should… return on board, yes?” She tried as no response other than an appreciative thankful nod came from the girl.

“Supposedly,” Rose managed, fighting the memory away.

“First things first,” the Doctor stopped the two women. “There are some things we need to- but you are free to go now, Donna. You do have the key with you, I hope?”

“Yeah. Just… Don’t take too long,” she sighed, ready for anything at this point.

Although one final glance Donna has thrown at them has given her one sight that was never supposed to meet her eye. Not only were their involved in an open-mouthed kiss, but-

* * *

 

She has run towards the TARDIS in an unlikely speed and locked herself in her room, just in case- Donna exhaled. It was not the first time she saw someone trying to, well, _shag_ somewhere in a dusty, at least remotely distant place, but doing so in the open, when not even a full minute of her leaving has passed!

Only after they have returned, which was about fifteen minutes later, the explanations began.

* * *

 

“That’s not _in the open_. Nobody saw us, besides-” Rose’s cheeks were pink.

“But you have lost your… your family… recently, is it not?” Donna countered. “Is this, all this snogging, so soon… is it even _allowed_?”

Rose gasped. “You have absolutely no right-”

“I have _all_ the rights, at least until you tell me your name!” Was it Tyler something?

The fair companion struggled to keep her hands to herself. No matter how amazing Donna has apparently been, no-one was ever going to insult her late family! Not without consequences.

“My name is of no importance now,” Rose hissed. “You have just-”

The Time Lord was only staring at the scene in front of him, shaking his head. He could not simply tell Donna he needed to check if _both_ of Rose’s hearts were working properly, even if only touching her through the fabric of her plain black dress - both because of the whiskey consumed and… Fine. He _needed_ to touch her. It was only the redhead’s problem she thought it intimate! Yes, they were making out shamelessly – but wasn’t it what couples did?

“Say _sorry_ ,” he said to Donna instead. “Her family was _my_ family.”

The ginger backed away, having realised her unforgivable mistake. “I am sorry. I don’t know what has happened to me.” The adoring looks, the ever-present disbelief… Whoever was she to disrupt this feeling between them?

“Have you two, by any chance, spent any Christmases together?”

The Doctor knew exactly which theory Donna was checking and grinned at her appreciatively, nodding.

Rose let out a breath. “Yes.” _All of us. Mum. Mickey._

“I am so sorry. I should have understood at once, _Rose_.”

The fair-haired girl grinned, welcoming the Doctor’s hand inside hers without even having glanced at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Donna.”

“At least I was not mistaken about how I happened to picture your relationship in my head,” Donna eyed them both smugly. “It’s always touching and kissing with you two, am I right?”

“Don’t forget _our_ adventures,” the Doctor chastised the ginger lightly.

However, if there was one thing obvious to the more recent companion it was that he cared about one person only. “What about I go to bed and forget you two exist? Ignore you for, say, a week?”  She suggested only half-jokingly.

The Doctor could not say he was very much against the idea.

“Don’t be foolish, Donna. We might take your words for granted!”

“What then? I believe I can tolerate some excessive making out, thank you very much,” Donna’s grin took up half of her face.

Rose bit her lip, uncomfortable. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She objected. “I believe I do!”

_Is she ready, do you think, love?_

Instead of employing telepathy, Rose shrugged. “Who is going to prepare him his preferred tea?”

“The TARDIS usually does,” Donna shrugged back at her. “Knowing the amount of tea he drinks…”

Rose looked at him, a question in her eyes. The Doctor shook his head. _To each their own._

“I prefer coffee,” the ginger admitted. “Have made a deal with the ship as soon as I started believing she was telepathic. I cause no trouble – she provides us with drinks,” Donna smirked.

 _Her ‘causing no trouble’ happens approximately twice a week_ , the Doctor clarified.

“Oh, and please don’t use all this mental communication when I can see you using it,” she asked. “It’s uncomfortable.”

“But it _is_ permitted during the magical ‘ignore us’ week, yes?” Rose asked, amused.

“Suppose so,” Donna shrugged.

 _Understand: It’s your ship and you can do whatever in it, but I don’t have to like it_ , the Doctor translated.

“Not _right away!”_ The redhead grimaced. She understood nothing was ever going to be the same again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously...**

_“Oh, and please don’t use all this mental communication when I can see you using it,” she asked. “It’s uncomfortable.”_

_“But it_ _is_ _permitted during the magical ‘ignore us’ week, yes?” Rose asked, amused._

_“Suppose so,” Donna shrugged._

_Understand: It’s your ship and you can do whatever in it, but I don’t have to like it_ , _the Doctor translated._

 _“Not_ right away _!”_ _The redhead grimaced. She understood nothing was ever going to be the same again._

* * *

 

**Inebriated**

**Chapter Three**

“Sorry.” Rose said. “It’s been a long time since I could use it with someone.”

Donna nodded in understanding.

“Sure. Does _anyone_ have some aspirin in here? My headache’s killing me!” That has surely been too much for one night for the ginger.

The glare answered her question.

“What’s up with you and aspirin? I did not think there were things Time Lords were allergic to, in the first place. You should at least be able to fight it!”

“I have, multiple times. Nobody can say which one of these might be my last, assuming-”

 _Don’t even say it!_ Rose’s face lost all colour. Donna thought it best not to remark on their telepathy this time.

“Rose has barely survived. Paracetamol, any pain-relief pills you might think of; the TARDIS has it all _but_. You might want to buy some yourself, if you so please, Donna,” he sighed. “But keep that _poison_ away from us.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She was willing to accept whatever strange rules the two had.

A new thought entered Donna’s mind. “Were you not supposed to stay drunk for much longer?” She asked Rose curiously.

“Try getting me drunk and see what happens,” Rose suggested only half-jokingly.

“Rose!” The Doctor grabbed her by both hands. “You can’t!”

“Don’t worry, Spaceman. She is only teasing you,” Donna assured him, suddenly feeling as if she were interrupting something special between the two lovers.

“Oh, fine. I’ll go make you some tea, is that all right?”

Rose shook her head. “With your headache? Please. You don’t need to do anything for us. Go, have some rest instead.”

“Some magical painkillers first?” Donna insisted.

The Doctor nodded at her thoughtfully. “I’m sure I had some inside my coat pocket,” he started fishing for a pill inside one of the pockets at once. The human companion was watching him with disbelief.

Rose shook her head, eyeing Donna apologetically. “He does that,” she sighed.

“Voilà!” The alien handed her a seemingly ordinary yellowish pill. “This should help,” he grinned, pleased with himself.

 _A sleeping pill?_ Rose glared at him, flabbergasted.

_They say it is possible to sleep one’s pain away, right, Rose?_

Donna growled at them, frustrated. “Am I the only one thinking the pill is _ancient_? Must have been in your pocket for what – centuries? Looks like it, anyway! Besides, I’d much prefer something still in its original packaging, thank you very much!”

“Ah. Of course,” the Doctor grinned at the fiery human sheepishly, handing her a whole pack of pills, blue this time. _Humans…_

“Are you sure you can’t get her something _ordinary_?”

Donna blinked, not sure she wanted to know the details but asking anyway. “What?!”

“These blue pills should work all right,” Rose soothed her, glaring at the Doctor anyway. _Are you absolutely certain?_

_It’s just some centuries from the future, love! It will be fine! The worst it could do is cause her some nausea, so..._

_Exactly!_

Donna was running out of patience.

 

“I am still here,” she reminded.

“Yeah, I think we should leave you to take your medicine,” the Doctor mused uncomfortably.

The ginger exhaled loudly. “So that you could pretend you weren’t there when I took the pills? Not in a million years! What if something _fatal_ happens to me?!”

Rose sighed. It was better not to risk annoying the fiery woman further. Especially now that she was having a headache. She shuddered, remembering.

 “Fine, I’ll be here and look after you until you fall asleep. Is this okay with you, Donna?”

“God. Yes. Just please, stop _talking_!”

The Doctor gave her a pill and started counting seconds in his head. With fourteen, she has fallen asleep.

* * *

 

The lights in the room have dimmed considerably. _Thanks, dear_ , the Time Lord sent to the TARDIS.

Rose grabbed him by the hand and pushed him out of the room. “You _have_ given her a sleeping pill!” She glared at him. “Why?”

 _I need to_ talk _to you, Rose._

She froze, connecting the dots at once. “Have I done something _stupid_ while-”

“While you were _under the influence_?” He grinned at her smugly, making Rose even more nervous. “That’s exactly what I’ve wanted to talk to you about, my cheeky clever girl,” his grin has somehow managed to become even wider.

“I wasn’t myself! Oh, my God. Have I tried to _kiss_ you? Before- before throwing up, I- don’t re-”

The amusement in his eyes was enough to stop her mid-sentence.

“Mmmm… Rose Tyler, too drunk to even think clearly, craving to pull me into a wet snog… I’m sure I’d have _loved_ that!” He licked his lips slowly, never taking his eyes away from her. He could see Rose was already burning with shame. “Not that the not-entirely-sober initiative I have received from you was unsatisfying.”

“I knew perfectly well what I was doing when we kissed, I’ll have you know!” Rose glared at him.

“I know, love,” he spoke soothingly. “I know,” he smiled. “But-”

The Doctor knew he absolutely should _not_ remind her about this, but he was already set on it and neither wished to nor intended to back away. “Do you remember how you have given me the question the properly sober Rose Tyler would have never-”

 _Just tell me already and be done with it._ Rose was aware of her tongue-slips whenever she has had too much alcoholic beverages. Her friends enjoyed teasing her about it.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around her safely, mimicking her words perfectly.

_Or is it a shag you want? I still have about thirteen minutes-_

The girl stared at him, her mouth agape, the colour of her cheeks changing from bright red to chalk white.

“Oh, my God. Oh-” She allowed her hands to fall limp to her sides, knowing the Doctor was holding her close. “We haven’t, yes? Tell me we haven’t!” _Tell me!_

“No. We did nothing of that sort. I am not that kind of a man. Could never make use of you whenever-”

Rose exhaled, relieved, some momentary tension leaving her shoulders.

 _Thank you._ “Thank you so much.” She blinked at him. _Wait, are you implying you never_ wanted _to?!_

It was the Doctor’s turn to freeze in place.


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously...**

_She blinked at him._ _ Wait, are you implying you never  _ wanted _ to?! _

_It was the Doctor’s turn to freeze in place._

* * *

**Inebriated**

**Chapter Four**

The Doctor blanched, then cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I never-”

Rose sighed.

“I mean, I have never even-” He knew he was only complicating his own situation with every word leaving his lips.

“You have never-?” She encouraged him, already hating herself for continuing the conversation.

“I have never thought of you in such a way,” the Doctor finished sharply, only his tense posture implying otherwise.

“Don't lie to me.” _Please._

Everybody had been keeping things from the out-of-the-blue heiress back in Pete's World. She had arrived with no credible explanation about herself. Arrived and become the Vitex heiress in a flash.

“I am tired of facing lies and half-truths whenever I go. If you haven't, really, that's okay. That's simply the way our relationship moves forward.”

It was obvious for the Doctor that Rose was forcing these words to leave her lips. Discussing something so unusual for both of them was doing nothing for their self-assurance.

_I am not implying anything._ The honest look in his eyes has made her bite her lip unknowingly, his peer answered with anticipation.

“Rose,” he breathed. “I am ready and willing to give you _anything_. Yes, if you had kept insisting, I might have agreed to make love to you. No matter if I can't understand how you people manage to make it all sound so ordinary. Manage to make the act last for what? Less than ten minutes? Where's the fun in that? What is even the point?”

Rose kept trying to control her giggles the best she could, but failed. The Time Lord could not help but feel insulted. “Have I  _said_ something?”

_I was not ready for this kind of a chat, 's all,_ Rose exhaled, pushing amusement aside. It has truly made her feel uncomfortable. 

“Sorry,” he said. “I have forgotten-”

_Shut up._ The shame was returning. “Is this all you wanted to inform me about? About just how foolish I get after a few drinks? Look, I have had a fair share of my mates making fun of me about my  _inabilities_ already.” 

The Doctor gazed at her pleadingly.  _Is this the best we can do? Quarrel, instead of making use of our time?_

The girl smiled at him, excited all of a sudden. No matter how unlike the Doctor this seemed, she was almost giddy with the promise that could be read inside his words.Besides, this felt nothing like some of the quarrels she might have got herself into, so long ago...

She shook her head, the smile still enlightening her features. “By making use of time, you mean what, exactly?”

_This_ , he winked at her. “We have all the time in the world. We can go wherever, whenever you fancy, could meet whichever person you'd like, attend whichever occassion-”

The Doctor's excitement felt so natural, so true to the person she was familiar with... However, everything felt somehow different about him. His gazes more intense, his words nowhere as encrypted as they might have sounded to her back when she was but a human companion... Even the way he was apparently trying to take every millimetre of her into his memory... If the Doctor had done this before, she was not aware of it.

The Time Lord was not even trying to hide it from her this time.

Instead of pointing something so personal out, Rose gave him her tongue-touched grin. “I hope I haven't frightened you too much, being all-”  _Accessible. Willing. Incredibly, incredibly stupid._

The Doctor smiled at her innocently, knowing she would be incredibly thankful for him not mentioning the fact that her face has turned red all over again. Even if Rose could feel the heat colouring her cheeks, she tried to fix her look on anything but him.

She knew as well as he did that keeping something from another Time Lord was an impossibility, including the wandering words and thoughts inside her mind.

_I can see you still haven't mastered the mind-shielding techniques, Rose,_ the Doctor tried to sound as unaffected and emotionless as possible.

_What's the use?_ She countered bitterly. _I have shamed myself in front of you yet again._

Only the mischievous sparkle in her eyes has told him that Rose Tyler, the one and only, could have tried and possibly would have succeeded in hiding whatever she pleased from him.

“Not from you.” _Never from you._

The Doctor exhaled in relief, feeling as if he had been holding his breath for much too long. Possibly since their goodbye in Norway.

The sincere grin has suddenly enlightened his face. “I don't know if you understand, Rose...”

 _I wouldn't mind you teaching me those techniques,_ she teased him. _I surely am rusty, with the entirety of my knowledge deeply tarnished by-_

All of a sudden, her supposed teasing has turned into something deeper and much more emotional. Neither thoughts nor words needed to be shared to understand that the relatively recent loss of her loved ones has taught her a lot of painful things, some in less than a day.

“If you don't want to talk about it, don't want to remember, it's only natural.”

_I_ need  _to remember._

Rose's objection reminded him just how stubborn the pink and yellow girl – a human or a Time Lady – has always been.

“I know that,” the Doctor muttered. “Just please, please, _please_ don't get to drinking whiskey again? It's never a solution!”

Rose grinned at him, her amusement completely honest. But so were the sparkles in her eyes.

“I agree with you,” she said, sharing some of her memories from the dreadful day in France. “I hope you remember?”

His face has changed colour multiple times. All the Doctor could do was nod, remembering. “Haven't I already said I was sorry?”

“You might have,” she sighed. “I have long since forgotten the, the-”

Many other incidents, catastrophes, losses and tragedies had followed afterwards. Rose was never a person to cling to the sorrowful side of life or to look for negative things everywhere she turned.

Before the Doctor could think of something witty to say, the Time Lady stopped him with one look. She could have broken down in tears, could have easily found a lot of trivial and nowhere as trivial things in the Time Lord's behaviour in the past. Could have chosen to play a damsel in distress. The choices were endless. But the only reasonable, the only suitable option was right in front of her. The tiny request has reached for the Doctor's mind without her ever thinking it through.

_Could you please stay with me tonight?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Previously...**

_But the only reasonable, the only suitable option was right in front of her. The tiny request has reached for the Doctor's mind without her ever thinking it through._

Could you please stay with me tonight?

* * *

 

 

**Inebriated**

**Chapter Five**

 

The Doctor nodded at her, beaming. _Gladly, Rose._

Rose sighed at him. “I hope you are not imagining some... inappropriate things?” She bit her lip. “I can't... couldn't, not when the memories are still so fresh and I-”

“Hush now, love. I promise I won't do anything inappropriate. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, is this okay?”

The girl blinked at him, unsure. “I thought we would-”

He smiled at her fondly, understanding the way she meant it. _I'll do anything for you, Rose. If you need me close, I am here for you. I love you,_ the Doctor spoke soothingly. He understood proceeding with anything was out of the question.

“Thank you,” she exhaled in relief. “I can't think of anyone else more suitable to help me to deal with-”

He eyed her dubiously. “I'm sure Donna could.”

“Are you telling me you'd rather allow someone I barely know to take care of me?” Rose spoke heavily.

 _No. I thought it would be easier for you to talk to another woman, that's all-_ The Time Lord could read disillusion on her face.

_You know Mum. Even Pete, however little. Donna couldn't possibly understand-_

The Doctor could see Rose was fighting off her tears the best she could, having unknowingly employed the _pretend now, feel later_ tactics rather successfully. But she didn’t have to pretend in front of him!

_I’m here, if you need to-_

“Don’t.”

He nodded, understanding. Rose was determined to go through the loss by herself. No matter how hurt the Time Lord might have felt because of her strange unwillingness to share her woes with him, he knew everyone had their ways of dealing with these things and has decided not to make matters worse by somehow -intensifying her grief.

 _Don't be silly_ , Rose asked him. _You are the only person I can trust in this situation. The only one who understands-_ She knew letting go of telepathic communication would make her a snuffling, if not weeping, mess.

“Whatever works for you, Rose,” the Doctor assured her. “Donna won't be here for quite a while still.”

She sighed. _Which means I can only do this now._

“If you are afraid of my reaction to your tears, dear… Don't be. Jackie was important to you, so she was important to me.”

“Even with the slaps?” Rose sent him a tearful smile.

The Doctor nodded, smiling at her kindly.

_If you don’t feel like talking, it’s okay, love._

Rose sent him a dubious look. Anything was better than allowing herself to sink in her sadness. “Are you growing tired of me, so soon?”

The Time Lord eyed her worriedly. “I can’t quite understand whether you’re trying to tease or insult me here.”

 _Neither,_ she mumbled. _I need to have a proper night’s sleep, s’all._

The alien nodded at her. “I’ll be here. You can sleep safely.”

She understood he was completely serious.

“I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble. But I really can’t-”

The Doctor has stopped her from getting emotional and tearful again with pressing his lips to hers lightly. _I promise, I_ swear _to you your time is yours alone, love. If it means I’d have to stay by your side inside this room for weeks, I will._

Rose smiled at him fondly. This was exactly what she needed. Having the one she trusted more than anyone helping her cope, even if merely by his close presence. _Thank you. Thank you so, so much for not running away._

The Doctor looked at her with a sincere worry in his eyes. However, he decided not to press her for answers to questions responding to which might only deepen her sorrow further.

_I won’t be leaving you, Rose. Someone needs to keep an eye on you, considering-_

The girl gasped. _Are you going to keep reminding me-_

He shook his head. “Not if it bothers you so, love. I’m sure we’ll remember our tipsy - or should I say sloshed - encounter with smiles on our faces some time from now!” The Doctor was trying to brighten up her mood, but the trace of a smile he thought to have noticed was gone the following second.

“Not when I remember the reason why you have found me in such a state,” Rose glared at him.

 _Time heals every wound, they say,_ the Doctor reminded her. He knew the saying was only partly true, but he was determined to see Rose smiling at him, maybe even honestly.

 _Tell_ them _to go to hell,_ the girl sighed heavily, realising this day has tired her down more than she imagined. _By the way, if Donna gets here while I’m still asleep, tell her to-_

The Doctor grinned at her. “I’ll send her away, don’t you worry, love. Perhaps even without allowing her to have some _improper_ thoughts about us,” he assured Rose.

The Time Lady has mirrored his expression, surprising the Doctor. “Are you implying she is not supposed to think of the completely natural thing, having the two of us in the same room?”

“Well… No, not exactly, but she might think it unacceptable-”

Rose shook her head at him. “Mum, she- she would approve of whatever we might be... i- implying,” her voice broke. “She has always believed we were-”

“And we should have been, love. Right now, you need to go to bed and sleep some of your sorrow away.”

“Promise me you’ll stay,” she asked him.

“I promise, love. Do you need to be accompanied to the bathroom?” He teased her lightly.

Rose has mouthed an insult at him instead.

The Doctor eyed her smugly. This reaction might have meant she was returning to herself, however unexpected the signs. “Fine, fine. I’m not insisting!”

She glared at him, disappearing inside the en-suite to change.


End file.
